
Yoga mats are the “dwelling” of a lot of bacteria, viruses and dust. If you keep practicing diligently without paying attention to regular yoga mat cleaning, harmful agents will easily enter the body and cause disease.
You might think that yoga mats rarely get dirty because most mats are used indoors and only for a short period of time each day. Forget this notion immediately because reality is not what you think.
Yoga mats contain a lot of harmful agents, if not cleaned regularly they will be detrimental to the body. But how should the mats be cleaned? Let’s continue to see the sharing below of easyhealthylive.com for more useful carpet cleaning tips.
How often should a yoga mat be cleaned?
Yoga mats hide more dangers than you think. When you exercise, the sweat all over your body will stick to the mat, plus the dirt under your feet and the lotion you use. Therefore, after a while, you will see that the yoga mat has dust, sweat and even grime.
Carpet cleaning to improve the quality of the training session
If this situation is prolonged and not cleaned, the exercise mat will become a favorable environment for bacteria to multiply and grow. And if you practice regularly on such a mat, your health will also be greatly affected, and the effect of the exercise mat will be significantly reduced!
To ensure health and safety, you should wash your carpet at least once a month or more often if you use it a lot. This will help your carpet be clean of bacteria, not smelly and not slippery when practicing. During use, if you find that the carpet is peeling or leaking, you can consider buying a new carpet.
How to clean exercise mats is both simple and effective
Here are 3 simple and effective yoga mat cleaning tips that you can try:
1. Wipe with carpet cleaning solution
If the carpet is not too dirty, you can use a carpet cleaning solution to remove the bacteria. This solution you can buy at the store or make your own at home by mixing tea tree oil with white vinegar and water.
To clean, put the carpet under the shower, spray cleaning solution on both sides of the carpet, then scrub with a sponge, then soak in warm water. After that, wipe the carpet with a dry towel and leave it to dry.
2. Wash carpets with diluted soap
Carpet cleaning solutions, although convenient, still can’t remove all bacteria, so it’s better to still wash your carpet with soap. You can choose to use dish soap or mild laundry detergent (the kind that do not irritate the skin) and then dilute it with water. You should pay attention to how to make soap less foam or no foam:
- Soak the carpet: Pour soap into the tub or a large bowl.
- Soak the carpet for about 5 minutes to remove stains and odors,
- Scrub with a soft cloth: Use a towel to rub the carpet surface, clean it thoroughly but gently so as not to affect the carpet surface.
- Flush with clean water: Pour the laundry detergent, then drain the water back into the tub and wash the carpet. Make sure soap is not left on the carpet.
- Wash and dry: Wash the carpet a few times to remove the water and then dry it in the drying rack. To quickly dry the carpet, you can roll it up and squeeze the water or use a dry towel to absorb the water on the carpet.
Clean yoga mats with carpet cleaning solution
3. Clean the carpet with a washing machine
If you want to save time, you can put the yoga mat into the machine for cleaning. However, not all carpets can be machine washed, so you need to ask the seller carefully before cleaning in this way.
If cleaning the carpet by machine, choose a gentle wash with normal water instead of a strong wash with hot water. Besides, you should also avoid using the drying mode to dry the carpet because the hot temperature will damage the carpet.
Note when cleaning yoga mats
When cleaning yoga mats, you need to note the following:
- Do not use carpet cleaners containing strong acids as this will damage the surface and reduce the durability of the carpet.
- Do not expose the carpet to such intense sunlight that will reduce the elasticity of the carpet.
- Do not dry the carpet because this can make the carpet brittle, reducing the quality of the carpet.
- Before use, make sure the mat is completely dry.
Store yoga mats properly
Besides cleaning, easyhealthylive.com also advises you some of the following tips to maintain your yoga mat:
Roll the carpet to save space, but you should dry or spread the carpet more
- Clean carpet after each use. This will not take you too much time, but it will save a lot of effort on carpet cleaning.
- When practicing yoga, hands and feet are constantly on the mat, so these areas will be very dirty. You should wash your hands and feet before practicing to keep the carpet clean and prevent bacteria from spreading.
- Consider using extra rugs to limit perspiration seeping into the carpet. This cover will also prevent slipping, making the carpet less dirty, thereby saving the effort of cleaning the carpet. You can put the rug in the washing machine at any time without having to clean the entire yoga mat.
- Most people will roll up the carpet after each use, but it’s a good idea to air it out.
- Store the mat in a cool, dry place and especially away from sunlight. This will prevent the carpet from getting damp, fungus and harmful bacteria.
Reference source
Here’s Exactly How to Clean Your Yoga Mat https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/fitness/a26257584/how-to-clean-yoga-mat/ Accessed: 23/3/2020

John Alen was born in 1971 and is a doctor in the healthcare and psychology fields with many years of experience. He is currently working at easyhealthylive.com, a leading health and psychology blog. Having studied at Y1 National Medical University named after IM Sechenov, John Alen is using his knowledge and experience to help improve the physical and mental health of people in the United States.